This article has been corrected. 1 correction — see Corrections at the end of this article.

Threat Tier: 3 — ELEVATED Last Researched: September 7, 2026

Data currency notice: Election law, official contact information, and legislative status change frequently. Verify all information within 30 days of use.

Recent Developments (Entry Point for Updates)

• September 7, 2026 (as of this writing): The fight over which congressional map governs November is with the U.S. Supreme Court. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who handles emergency matters from the circuit that includes Missouri, ordered the referendum’s proponent to respond by noon today — a federal holiday — signaling the Court intends to move fast. No ruling had issued as this playbook was last checked; a decision could come at any time between now and Election Day. Separately, and not to be confused with the map fight, DOJ has also asked the Supreme Court to stay a different September 4 order blocking the USPS mail-ballot rule — see below.
• September 3–6, 2026: The Missouri Supreme Court unanimously ruled, in von Glahn v. Hoskins, that the Republican-drawn “Missouri First” congressional map (House Bill 1, signed by Gov. Kehoe in September 2025) never lawfully took effect because Secretary of State Hoskins wrongly rejected a citizen referendum petition against it. The court ordered Missouri to use the 2022 congressional map for the November 2026 general election and placed HB 1 itself on the November 3 ballot for voters to approve or reject. Attorney General Catherine Hanaway immediately filed an emergency application asking the U.S. Supreme Court to stay that ruling (Hoskins v. von Glahn, No. 26A-304), calling the decision an “unprecedented” violation of the federal Elections Clause. Roughly 1.2 million Missourians who voted under the 2025 map in the August primary could be reassigned to different districts for November if the 2022 map stands — watch your sample ballot.
• September 4, 2026: In the separate federal fight over EO 14399, Judge Indira Talwani (D. Mass.) issued a new preliminary injunction blocking USPS from enforcing the mail-ballot rule through the November election. This is the order that currently controls — not the June 25 injunction, which was vacated August 26 after the Supreme Court stayed a related case on procedural grounds. DOJ has now asked the Supreme Court to stay the September 4 order too; that application is pending as of September 6–7. Missouri is one of 12 Republican-led states that intervened to support the Trump administration in this fight and appealed the prior injunction to the First Circuit.
• August 28, 2026: House Bill 1871 — a Kehoe-signed omnibus election law — took effect. Its most consequential provision for voters: it restores voting rights to Missourians completing felony probation or parole for most offenses, rather than making them wait until probation/parole is fully discharged. The Sentencing Project estimates roughly 41,100 Missourians become newly eligible. Eleven categories of crime are excluded and still require full discharge. County clerks warn that Department of Corrections status updates may lag, so newly eligible voters should confirm their registration directly with their local election authority.
• Spring 2026 (reported June 2026): Secretary of State Hoskins quietly transferred Missouri voter registration data to the U.S. Department of Justice, months after his office publicly stated Missouri had not signed DOJ’s proposed data-sharing agreement. Hoskins says legislative inaction left him no other tool to investigate suspected fraud. Missouri was never sued by DOJ over voter data — unlike 30 states and DC — because it complied without litigation.
• March 24–25, 2026: The Missouri Supreme Court kept Amendment 1’s photo ID mandate in place, and in a companion ruling permanently blocked four provisions of a 2022 law (HB 1878) that had criminalized voter-registration and civic-engagement work — a durable win for organizers that had been enjoined since November 2022.
• Amendment 1 photo ID (passed November 2022 as a constitutional amendment) is now in its second general election cycle. Government-issued photo ID is a constitutional requirement, immune to a state-law challenge.
• Missouri was NOT sued in the DOJ’s 30-state-plus-DC voter-roll litigation campaign. See the transfer described above instead.
• Leadership is no longer untested. Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) and SoS Denny Hoskins (R) have each held office since January 2025 and now have an 18-month record — including Hoskins’ handling of the congressional-map referendum and the voter-data transfer. Missouri also has a new Attorney General: Catherine Hanaway, appointed by Kehoe in September 2025 after Andrew Bailey resigned to become the FBI’s co-deputy director. She is defending Hoskins and the new map at the U.S. Supreme Court.
• Federal delegation context — Missouri’s two U.S. Senators (Hawley, Schmitt) both actively worked to overturn the 2020 presidential election through different mechanisms; that record is unchanged.

State Threat Profile

Missouri’s 2022 passage of Amendment 1 — a constitutional photo ID requirement — remains a permanent structural barrier that cannot be overturned by state courts interpreting state law. Only federal constitutional challenges remain viable.

Layered on top of that durable barrier is an acute, fast-moving crisis that has nothing to do with photo ID: which congressional map governs the November election is genuinely unresolved with 57 days to go. The Missouri Supreme Court ordered the state back to its 2022 map and put the Republican-drawn 2025 map to a referendum vote on the same November ballot; the state has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to freeze that ruling and use the 2025 map instead. State officials themselves have told the courts that switching maps this late creates real logistical risk — reassigning roughly 1.2 million voters, redesigning and reprinting ballots, and meeting the federal deadline (September 19) to mail ballots to military and overseas voters 45 days before the election. That operational strain, not which party benefits from the district lines, is why this playbook treats the map fight as a threat to voters’ ability to receive and cast a timely ballot — independent of who wins the underlying redistricting argument.

Missouri is also one of only 12 states that formally intervened to support the Trump administration’s USPS mail-ballot rule (EO 14399) in federal court, appealing the injunction that currently blocks it. That litigation posture matters nationally even though Missouri’s own absentee program is narrow enough (excuse required, no grace period) that the rule’s practical bite here is smaller than in states with broad no-excuse mail voting.

Missouri was not sued by DOJ for its voter rolls, but Secretary Hoskins transferred voter data to the federal government in spring 2026 after months of public refusal — a reminder that the absence of a lawsuit does not mean the absence of a transfer.

Countering these threats: a same-decade voting-rights expansion (HB 1871’s felony re-enfranchisement, in effect now) and a permanent court win against the law that had chilled voter-registration groups since 2022. This is a genuine mixed picture, and the Threat Tier reflects that mix — not a one-directional slide.

Primary threat vectors:

1. Amendment 1 photo ID — constitutional requirement, extremely difficult to challenge via state courts
2. Congressional-map uncertainty at the U.S. Supreme Court — a live risk to timely ballot printing and voter-district notice this close to Election Day, regardless of the map’s ultimate partisan outcome
3. Missouri’s USPS-litigation posture as an intervenor for the administration, even though the rule itself is currently blocked
4. Voluntary DOJ voter-data transfer by SoS Hoskins, with no independent oversight of its downstream use
5. Absentee voting restrictions — excuse required for mail return; no grace period for late-arriving mail ballots
6. Election-denier federal delegation — Hawley and Schmitt actively undermined 2020 certification through different mechanisms

Primary protections in place:

1. HB 1871 felony voting-rights restoration (effective Aug. 28, 2026) — an estimated 41,100 additional eligible voters
2. Permanent blocking of HB 1878’s criminalization of voter-registration and civic-engagement work (March 2026)
3. No-excuse in-person absentee voting (two weeks before Election Day) remains available and unaffected by any of the above

Legal Disruption Routes

Officials in Key Positions

Andrew Bailey is no longer Missouri’s Attorney General. He resigned in September 2025 to join the FBI; Catherine Hanaway has held the office since.

Official Statements on Election Integrity

• Gov. Kehoe called the Missouri Supreme Court’s September 3 ruling blocking the 2025 congressional map an act that “has thrust our state into a full-fledged constitutional crisis.”
• AG Hanaway said in a statement on filing the SCOTUS application: “We have just appealed yesterday’s catastrophic ruling to the Supreme Court of the United States. We look forward to the Court’s prompt review of this critical matter, as our ability to hold timely and lawful congressional elections hangs in the balance.”
• SoS Hoskins initially told the public in December 2025 that Missouri “hadn’t entered into an agreement with the Justice Department” over voter data “at this time”; his office transferred the data months later without public notice, saying state lawmakers had blocked another path to investigate fraud.
• Sen. Hawley was the only senator to maintain his objection to the 2020 Electoral College certification after the January 6 attack. He continues to cast doubt on election security while opposing federal voting rights legislation.
• Sen. Schmitt led Missouri’s participation in Texas v. Pennsylvania — the unprecedented attempt to have the Supreme Court invalidate election results in four other states. He has not renounced this action.
• Rep. Jason Smith questioned in a CNBC interview why ICE agents should be banned from polling places — a position at odds with the DHS official who told election officials in a February 2026 meeting that ICE would not be stationed at polls (see the federal brief for the national picture on this).

Step-by-Step Defense Playbook

For Every Voter

1. Verify registration — visit sos.mo.gov/elections or call your local election authority. If you’re in the Kansas City metro (5th District) or the St. Louis/St. Charles area (2nd or 3rd Districts), confirm your district assignment close to Election Day — it may change depending on which congressional map the courts end up using.
2. Obtain photo ID now — Amendment 1 requires government-issued photo ID: a nonexpired Missouri driver’s license/non-driver ID, U.S. passport, military/veteran ID, or other qualifying government photo ID. Free non-driver photo IDs are available from Missouri Department of Revenue (DOR) offices.
3. Know your three ways to vote before Election Day, and don’t confuse them:

• Excuse-required absentee (RSMo 115.279), by mail or in person, for voters with a qualifying reason (absence from county on Election Day, incapacity or confinement, religious belief, election worker, or incarcerated-but-eligible). Opens six weeks before Election Day — September 22, 2026 for the Nov. 3 general.
• No-excuse in-person absentee voting — any registered voter, no reason required, cast in person at your local election authority (or a designated county location). This is Missouri’s true “early voting” and opens only two weeks before Election Day — October 20, 2026, available through 5 p.m. on November 2, 2026.
• No-excuse mail-in ballot (RSMo 115.302) — any registered voter can request one by mail, but the returned envelope generally must be notarized (some excuse categories are exempt from notarization). Because of that extra step, the no-excuse in-person option above is simpler for most voters without a qualifying excuse.

1. Mail absentee-ballot application deadline — if requesting an excuse-required absentee ballot by mail, fax, or email, your application must be received by your local election authority by 5:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 21, 2026 (the second Wednesday before the election). Applying in person is allowed up to 7 p.m. on Election Day itself.
2. If you lack ID — cast a provisional ballot. You have until 5 p.m. on the Friday after the election (November 6, 2026) to present valid photo ID to your local election authority for it to count.
3. Newly eligible under HB 1871? If you completed felony probation or parole for most offenses on or after August 28, 2026, you may be newly eligible to vote. Confirm directly with your local election authority — county clerks have flagged that Department of Corrections status updates can lag behind the new law.
4. Don’t risk USPS for absentee return — Missouri has no grace period. A mailed ballot must be received by your election authority by 7 p.m. Election Day to count (military/overseas voters have until noon, Friday, November 6, 2026, if postmarked by Election Day). Missouri does not use ballot drop boxes. Returning your ballot in person, or using no-excuse in-person absentee voting instead of mailing, is the more robust option.
5. Document problems — note poll worker instructions, wait times, any turned-away voters, with times and locations. Call 866-OUR-VOTE for real-time legal support.

For Election Workers

1. Amendment 1 compliance — know exactly which IDs satisfy the constitutional requirement. Keep a reference card at your station.
2. Free ID information — direct voters without ID to Missouri DOR for free non-driver photo IDs. Have addresses, hours, and required documents listed.
3. Provisional ballot procedures — every voter who lacks ID must be offered a provisional ballot. Failure to offer is a violation.
4. District-assignment contingency — be ready to explain to voters why their congressional district assignment may differ from the primary if the courts settle on the 2022 map; have current precinct/district lookup tools ready as the litigation resolves.
5. Newly eligible voters under HB 1871 — expect registration inquiries from people completing felony probation/parole; have a clear process for confirming eligibility against Department of Corrections records, which may lag.
6. NVRA quiet period — federal law bars systematic voter-roll purge programs within 90 days of a federal election; that window began August 5, 2026, and is active now. Any systematic removal activity in this window should be documented and flagged for legal review.
7. Chain of custody documentation — meticulous records for all ballots, especially in St. Louis and Kansas City where post-election challenges are most likely.

For Organizers

1. Felony re-enfranchisement outreach is the single biggest new opportunity — an estimated 41,100 Missourians on parole or probation became newly eligible to vote on August 28, 2026. Partner with reentry organizations, DOC-adjacent service providers, and faith communities to help them confirm registration status directly with their local election authority.
2. Free ID drives — partner with MO DOR to help eligible voters obtain free photo IDs. Target elderly, low-income, and minority communities in St. Louis City, North County, and KC.
3. Clarify the three-track absentee system — most Missourians don’t know no-excuse in-person absentee voting is only a two-week window (Oct. 20–Nov. 2), separate from the six-week excuse-required window. Getting this distinction right in voter materials matters.
4. St. Louis and KC turnout — urban areas face the longest lines and could see district reassignment on short notice depending on the map litigation. Organize transportation, food for long waits, and legal observers at every high-turnout location.
5. Track the congressional-map fight — whichever way the Supreme Court rules, expect voter confusion about district assignments and candidates through Election Day. Prepare clear, dated public communications you can update quickly.
6. Redistricting beyond Congress — Missouri is not among the states the Supreme Court’s April 2026 Louisiana v. Callais ruling named as newly free to redraw congressional lines, but the decision’s broader effect — stripping Voting Rights Act Section 2 as an enforceable check on maps that dilute minority voting strength — reaches local government too. About two-thirds of historical vote-dilution cases were local; watch school-board, county-commission, and at-large election systems in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas for changes that would previously have drawn a Section 2 challenge.
7. Federal delegation and state-officer accountability — document Hawley, Schmitt, Kehoe, and Hanaway statements on election integrity and the congressional-map fight. Voters should know their senators tried to overturn the last presidential election, and that the state’s current AG is now litigating to keep a map a state court found unlawful.
8. College voter outreach — Mizzou, UMSL, UMKC, Wash U, SLU students — promote no-excuse in-person absentee voting and ensure ID compliance awareness.

For Lawyers

1. Amendment 1 federal challenges — state-law challenges are foreclosed by constitutional amendment status. Only federal Equal Protection (14th Amendment) and poll tax (24th Amendment) claims remain viable. Build an evidentiary record of disparate impact.
2. Congressional-map contingency planning — track Hoskins v. von Glahn (No. 26A-304) at the Supreme Court. If the stay is denied and the 2022 map controls, monitor county election authorities for timely, accurate voter notice of any district reassignment; if the stay is granted, monitor for the reverse. Either outcome this close to the election creates voter-notice and ballot-access questions worth pre-briefing.
3. NVRA 90-day quiet period — active now (began August 5, 2026). Any systematic Missouri voter-roll purge activity during this window is presumptively unlawful and immediately actionable; this is a live posture, not a future one.
4. DOJ voter-data transfer oversight — no lawsuit forced Missouri’s spring 2026 transfer of voter data to DOJ, which means there is no litigation-driven disclosure record of what was transferred or how it will be used. Consider public-records requests to SoS Hoskins’ office and DOJ as a starting point.
5. Provisional ballot counting — monitor county boards for systematic rejection of provisional ballots. Track whether voters who present ID within the cure deadline have their ballots counted.
6. Absentee ballot rejections — track rejection rates by county, race, and party registration for disparate-impact evidence, including rejections tied to the mail-in ballot notarization requirement.
7. Certification challenge preparation — given the Hawley/Schmitt history, prepare for potential federal certification objections if any statewide or congressional race is close.
8. SoS/AG directive challenges — Hoskins and Hanaway are now active litigants defending contested election rules, not just neutral administrators. Be prepared to challenge new directives in state court on procedural or statutory grounds, even where Amendment 1 itself is unassailable.

Key Contacts and Resources

Timeline of Key Actions

Sources

• Missouri Amendment 1 (2022) — photo voter ID constitutional amendment text and vote totals
• Missouri absentee/mail-in voting statutes (RSMo §115.279, §115.281, §115.302, §115.652)
• Missouri Supreme Court, von Glahn v. Hoskins (Sept. 3, 2026) — congressional map/referendum ruling
• Hoskins v. von Glahn, U.S. Supreme Court No. 26A-304 — pending emergency stay application (filed Sept. 4-5, 2026)
• SCOTUSblog, “Missouri urges Supreme Court to allow for use of congressional map…” (Sept. 5, 2026) and “Missouri organizer urges Supreme Court to leave ruling in place…” (Sept. 7, 2026)
• Missouri Independent / STLPR / ABC17 / KZRG / Newsweek reporting on the September 2026 congressional-map ruling and SCOTUS application
• Campaign Legal Center, “Defending Missourians’ Right to Vote for Fair Maps (Hoskins v. Von Glahn)” (Sept. 2026)
• Ballotpedia, “State of Election Policy Legislation 2026 Mid-Year Report” and “Missouri enacts omnibus election bill, three others in 2026 session” (Aug. 18, 2026) — HB 1871, SJR 87
• Jefferson City News Tribune / Bolts / KFVS12, reporting on HB 1871’s felony voting-rights restoration (July–September 2026)
• St. Louis Post-Dispatch (stltoday.com), “Despite earlier pledge, Missouri’s top election official handed voter info to feds” (June 2026); Columbia Missourian guest commentary (June 30, 2026)
• Stateline, “Trump’s DOJ offers states confidential deal to remove voters flagged by feds” (Dec. 18, 2025) — names Missouri among states approached
• Campaign Legal Center, “Victory! Missouri Supreme Court Upholds Ruling Blocking Law Criminalizing Voter Engagement Activity” (Mar. 25, 2026)
• Votebeat, “ICE won’t be at polling places in 2026 election, Trump administration official says” (Feb. 26, 2026) — cites Rep. Jason Smith
• Ballotpedia, “Voter registration deadlines, 2026” — Missouri general-election deadline (Oct. 7, 2026)
• KCUR / KOMU / KFVS12 election-guide reporting on Missouri absentee-voting windows (2026 primary, used to derive general-election dates)
• Sen. Hawley — Jan. 6 Select Committee evidence; 2020 certification objection record
• TX v. PA, No. 22O155 (SCOTUS 2020) — Missouri brief joined by then-AG Schmitt
• Missouri DOR — free non-driver ID program information

Factual correction requests: If you believe information in this playbook is incorrect, please contact factcheck@patriot.university with the specific claim and any supporting documentation.

Last Updated: September 7, 2026

Corrections

Correction [2026-09-08]: Named Andrew Bailey as Missouri’s Attorney General. Bailey resigned in September 2025 to join the FBI; Catherine Hanaway has been Attorney General since 2025-09-08. Source: https://ago.mo.gov/.